Email Policy

The email policy for Angry in the Great White North.

• Any emails received at agwnblog@gmail.com might get posted.
• If you want an email message to remain "private and confidential", mark it so clearly.
• Marking an email "p&c" is not a license to then insult me without worrying about who might see it. Use "p&c" if your email contains interesting information, but you don't want to be named as the source, for example. I will ignore the "p&c" if the email is just some rant.
• If you are voicing a personal opinion, positive or negative, and want to remain anonymous, create an anonymous email account (Hotmail and Yahoo are the most popular services). Make sure you select a name that does not incorporate your real name, your initials, your employer's name, your phone number, or any other identifying information.
• Better yet, post your comments directly to the blog. I've enabled anonymous posts for exactly this reason. I don't believe that people must identify themselves to make an opinion known -- to require that is to put a chill on free speech. I'm not worried about anonymous abuse because (1) I can ban the IP address from further posts and (2) it rarely happens, and reflect badly on the person making the post, and not me.
• If you do choose to voice an opinion with an email account assigned to you by your employer, understand that this is the equivalent of wearing a distinctive uniform and then yelling from a soapbox. Anyone would reasonably assume that the opinion is that of the organization as well as of the individual, or at the very least, the opinion is tolerated by the organization. So please be very careful about emails from work.
• There is a rule in broadcast -- treat every microphone as live. Plenty of politicians have gotten in trouble muttering something near a microphone they thought was turned off. No journalist worth his salt would ignore such a comment accidently recorded, and the excuse "I didn't mean for you to hear it" has never worked. If I receive a provocative email, and by design or by accident I see that the sender is associated with some organization, and the content of the email is especially noteworthy when that sender's organization is considered, then you can be sure that I will post it for discussion. As I've noted, anonymous posts have been enabled because I want people to be able to post personal opinions without concern for their jobs. But at the same time, if you let me know who you work for, I will consider that when I read your emails.
• It's never too late to say you're sorry. If you write something, and then regret it, let me know. If I haven't posted anything yet, then I will consider the issue closed privately. If I have posted, I will post the apology and publicly accept it, and publicly consider the issue closed. I will also admonish anyone who tries to carry on with the controversy on my behalf after the apology has been accepted. If I do receive something that sounds nasty, I will personally consider, on a case by case basis, emailing you back and giving you an opportunity to reconsider your words. I'll attach a deadline, after which I will consider the email in play, and potential material for posting. I won't do that in every situation, and I won't be held responsible if you didn't know about the deadline, but in general, that's the way I work. People say things they wish they could take back, and I'd like to give that opportunity whenever possible.

Sound fair? If you have any comments about this policy, let me know.

Curious what other Canadian bloggers are saying about this topic? Go to the Canadian Political Blogosphere Search page to find out.

The changes are nice, but it is dificult to read, maybe takes getting used to, but one topic seems to hap hazardly run into another when scrolling.

My intentions are not to criticize, only to suggest, can you fix that?...if I wanted to criticize I'd ask why isn't the angry beaver flipping the bird, like, well, I would, well, you know...umm...maybe the bird thing isn't a good idea....

Posted by: at August 27, 2005 12:03 AM

Thank you very much for the link to my blog page. I have taken the liberty of placing a link in my blog roll to your page, which is by the way, very good. Take care, Barry

Posted by: Barry at October 29, 2005 04:14 PM

As an ex-pat Canadian, I commend you in taking on the socialist real politik which is destroying the country of my birth and rearing. The country has taken a turn down a road of socialist experimentation which is sure to lead to disaster. The influx of Moslems who are bent on the countries destruction and the accomodation to perversion and drug abuse can only lead to a decline that means the death of the true north strong and free. Soon it will be the decadent north perverted and diseased.

I want to thank you for your vigilance. You are a true patriot. I also want to thank you for standing with Israel, a fellow democracy and a beacon of liberty in the despotic Middle East, which Canada has thrown to the wolves out of anti-semitism and political expediency. True Canadians must stand shoulder to shoulder with Israel in their fight against malevolent Islamic terror, even if it is disguised as blatant anti-semitism to appeal to the Europeans.

We stand on guard for thee.

Posted by: Aaron S. at October 30, 2005 01:36 PM

I thought I better bring this to your immediate attention, more important than Gomery in my opinion and that is the two srories, one in the Vancouver Sun regarding the corruption in appointing Judges, and the other more important BOMB SHELL that Jack Granatsein let loose in the Citizen todya. Both can be found on canada.com this day, or the Ottawa Citizen this day. Granastein blows the lid off Canada's foreign policy saying that it is QUEBECS foreign policy that Canada is following and that it is detrimental to Canada, Much bigger story than Gommery, why the "Citizen" flaffing this story, and why on the same day as the realease of the Gommery report. Big news AGREE?

STEPHEN. PARKSVILLE BC WW 2 VET.

Posted by: stephenmichaud at November 1, 2005 09:40 PM